Friday, December 28, 2012

Friday, December 21, 2012

"The Tudor despotism had been established in 1485 because trade would have been impossible without firm government and also because the whole country was sick of perennial brawling amongst the remnants of the old aristocracy. No sooner, however, had this autocracy, this dictatorship, brought prosperity to the English people than a movement started to depose it. Nothing in the world could be more natural than that the merchant princes, fattened with the spoils of the New World, should object to paying taxes—and heavy taxes at that—to the throne from which their success had been derived. So early in English history did there appear the sinister tendency to regard money and power as synonymous. Now this new plutocracy was enthusiastically supported by the Puritans. These earnest, if fanatical, extremists had undoubted grievances. They were certainly forbidden to practice their religion. They were, in many cases, persecuted with the intolerance of the age, just as were the Roman Catholics. These Puritans, however, had drunk all too deeply of Jewish philosophy. They were not content to read the Old Testament. They must needs identify themselves with the figures in it. They called themselves by such names as “Hew-Agag-In-Pieces-Before-The-Lord.” Ben Jonson was hardly exaggerating when he called his Puritans Tribulation Wholesome and Zeal-in-the-Land. Certainly the materialism of the Jews, as exposed in the Old Testament, had bitten deeply into their souls: for with all their psalms and all their hymns, they soon began to make money hand over fist. By some rather obscure process, they gradually insinuated themselves into the merchant classes, perhaps because their religion allowed them no vice except that of loving money. If their entry into the plutocracy is not easy to explain, there is no difficulty in explaining why so many merchants became Puritans. The reason was that it sounded much more dignified to protest against theCrown in defense of religious liberty than in attempted evasion of taxes."

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Sunday, November 25, 2012

"I’ve watched this disaster unfold all last week, then the formal detailed announcement came Friday as posted on the Deadline website. Universal, in conjunction with Paradox, has a new Conan movie in the works with Arnold Schwarzenegger returning at age 63 to reprise his role as Conan. The new film, being fast tracked for a 2014 release, will be titled The Legend of Conan. Paradox’s head honcho Fredrik Malmberg describes the premise of the film in this excerpt form the film’s announcement:

"The original ended with Arnold on the throne as a seasoned warrior, and this is the take of the film we will make… It’s that Nordic Viking mythic guy who has played the role of king, warrior, soldier and mercenary, and who has bedded more women than anyone, nearing the last cycle of his life. He knows he’ll be going to Valhalla, and wants to go out with a good battle."

"This movie picks up Conan where Arnold is now in his life, and we will be able to use the fact that he has aged in this story. I love the property of Conan so much that I wouldn’t touch it unless we came up with something worthy. We think this is a worthy successor to the original film. Think of this as Conan’s Unforgiven."

Said Schwarzenegger : "I always loved the Conan character and I’m honored to be asked to step into the role once again. I can’t wait to work with Universal and the great team of Fredrik Malmberg and Chris Morgan to develop the next step of this truly epic story."

BLOG`s COMMENT : Dont know what really to expect from this. We will wait see...

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

VEMOD is band based in Northern Norway. They call their music Dark Ethereal Metal. Listening their music, it brings to my mind : Aurora Borealis on the horizon, long blue nights , high mountain peaks and endless snowfall. In few words, a perfect soundtrack for the winternights!

VEMOD`s debut full-length "Venter på stormene" (Cover above) is ready, and it will be released soon. Also, recently they recorded the exclusive track "Vi er natten" for a compilation titled "Samhainwork I"

You can hear this Brilliant piece of music here:

For more info, contact e.t.c. check the band`s official Facebook and Bandcamp pages:

"The winds within unchained, the wild waters unleashed, the fiery innermost set alight, to work the fertile soil of the primeval soul once more. Thunderous hearts giving birth to new suns, ablaze in the whirling heavens. Behold - their silence shall sing! The keys in our hands, the path before us, the portals within wide open. This is where gods die and we rise anew, again, and again, and again..."

Thursday, November 15, 2012

“It is the superior man’s business to feel happy in the service of the highest purpose of Nature which is the return to original perfection—to supermanhood. It is the business of every man to be happy to serve that purpose, directly or indirectly, from his natural place, which is the place his race gives him in the scheme of creation. And if he cannot be? Let him not be. Who cares? Time rolls on, just the same, marked by the great Individuals who have understood the true meaning of history, and striven to remould the earth according to the standards of the eternal Order, against the downward rush of decay, result of life in false­hood—the Men against Time.”

Monday, November 5, 2012

I think its already known to the regural visitors of this blog, how much i like visiting during Autumn places of Historical/Cultural importance.The weather this season creates a very special atmosphere, and for a few moments we can escape from the claws of this modern , materialist, atheist chaos we are trapped in.

This autumn it was the turn of Germany. More lucky than ever, we had with us a special guest (His name will be revelead below), describing, explaining , and discussing for several hours, in every place and everything we were visiting and with in-depth details. One more great experience to be remembered for a lifetime!

Thursday, October 25, 2012

"The Nazi propaganda mastermind behind Hitler speaks in first person as actor Kenneth Branagh reads pages of the diary kept by the chief of propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, revealing the man's most inner thoughts."

Saturday, October 13, 2012

"I began the writing of my "Lives" for the sake of others, but I find that I am continuing the work and delighting in it now for my own sake also, using history as a mirror and endeavouring in a manner to fashion and adorn my life in conformity with the virtues therein depicted. For the result is like nothing else than daily living and associating together, when I receive and welcome each subject of my history in turn as my guest, so to speak, and observe carefully "how large he was and of what mien,"( As Priam admired Achilles, Iliad)and select from his career what is most important and most beautiful to know.

"And oh! what greater joy than this canst thou obtain,"

Sophocles

and more efficacious for moral improvement? Democritus says we ought to pray that we may be visited by phantoms which are propitious, and that from out the circumambient air such only may encounter us as are agreeable to our natures and good, rather than those which are perverse and bad, thereby intruding into philosophy a doctrine which is not true, and which leads astray into boundless superstitions. But in my own case, the study of history and the familiarity with it which my writing produces,enables me, since I always cherish in my soul the records of the noblest and most estimable characters, to repel and put far from me whatever base, malicious, or ignoble suggestion my enforced associations may intrude upon me, calmly and dispassionately turning my thoughts away from them to the fairest of my examples."

PLUTARCH "The Life of Aemilius"

(Save the picture at your desktop and then click "Zoon In" to read a bio of Plutarch)

Monday, October 8, 2012

"IANVA (pronounced "ya-noo-ah") was born as the meeting of a group of musicians with different backgrounds united by the common goal to give sense to forgotten words as “passion”, “boldness” and “dignity” and by the will to preserve those few own things of the Italian.

Many are the names involved in IANVA: Mercy e Francesco La Rosa – both already known for their work in Malombra, Il Segno Del Comando and Helden Rune, three cult Italian projects with strong roots in old school “dark sound” (in the ‘70s meaning of this term) atmospheres; Stefania T. D’Alterio, ex singer of Wagooba, a peculiar combo inspired by cinematic-rétro atmospheres with a touch of irony, and one of the very few Italian pens interested in weirdness and so called “apocalypse culture”; Argento and Azoth, members of Italian top black metal band Spite Extreme Wing (and their cult side project Antropofagus). Last but not least, classical trained musicians Fabio Gremo and Giuseppe Spanò (from prog-rock band Daedalus), Fabio Fabbri and Davide La Rosa, and last but not least the new entry Fabio Carfagna (already part of Malombra too) complete the roster.

These different paths, are just a little contribution to the IANVA project which is completely devoted to its concept and its musical Italian character, with wide influences form the very first excellent Italian new wave, to the Masters of the Pure Art of Film-score (as Ennio Morricone, Bruno Nicolai, Armando Trovajoli, Franco Micalizzi, Stelvio Cipriani, Guido and Maurizio De Angelis…); keeping always in mind ideal protagonists as Scott Walker and Marc Almond and chansonniers as Fabrizio De Andrè, Piero Ciampi and Jacques Brel. A declaration of love to good old glittery nocturnal ballads of Britain’s most decadent glam tradition, and to those totem figures of Italian mainstream as Mina, Gabriella Ferri, Milly, Mia Martini, Milva, Dalida, Massimo Ranieri and Lucio Battisti.

The only concession to “actuality” is some attention to some of the best and most refined representatives of today’s folk noir scene WITH NO HIDDEN POLITICAL AGENDA (and far away from most of the pale so called neo-folk bandwagon), which enrich the peculiar mélange of this sound and concept, coming from the past, but cast in the future: ARCHEOFUTURIST..."

Sunday, September 30, 2012

This song was the first Black Metal song with lyrics in Dutch. It was written in 1993, when we had just started rehearsing with the line-up that would eventually record the demo 'The Wolves Awake'. At the time, we listened a lot to bands like Master's Hammer and Masacre, who sang in their own languages, which inspired us to also try that.

I came up with the title 'Bloed In De Sneeuw' and wrote a lyric for it. At the same time, Othalaz showed me a riff he had that I liked and we began constructing the song. Othalaz' riff became the verse riff and I came up with the chorus. However, the lyrics didn't fit very well so I changed those (as far as I remember, the original lyrics were much longer, but these have long since been lost). When the song was finished, we decided to record it. Since we weren't sure how this would turn out, we decided to record it as a 13 Candles project track and put it on the 'Hymns Of Winter' compilation rather than include it on 'The Wolves Awake' for which we had enough material anyway.

When the compilation was released, reactions to the song were very enthusiastic. Besides being a really cool song musically, admittedly heavily inspired by 'Viking era' Bathory, the Dutch lyrics gave the song something 'extra' that was apparently more than just the novelty factor. So we started rehearsing the song with Countess and we even played it live once (in May 1994). However, for reasons I cannot remember - if any - we didn't include it on the next Countess album, 'The Return Of The Horned One' when we record that later in 1994. Then when we were signed to N.E.P. and we were preparing the album's release, Opyros insisted we add 'Bloed In De Sneeuw' to the album because he really liked that song. We didn't have time to record it again, though, so we just did a remix of the original 13 Candles version and tacked that onto the album as the final track (admittedly, there is hardly any difference between the remix and the original mix).

When the album was released, again the response to 'Bloed In De Sneeuw' was really good. So when, in March 1995, we had another Countess line-up together and began rehearsing, we decided to include the song in our live set. We did change the song a little: we moved the lead section from the end to after the second chorus, before the break in the middle. We felt that made the song 'flow' better. As far as I remember, we played 'Bloed In De Sneeuw' live at every gig we did from then on. It was also recorded for the live album in 1996. While the full live album was never released, the live version of 'Bloed In De Sneeuw' was eventually released as a bonus track on 'Heilig Vuur' in 2004. 'Heilig Vuur', of course, was an album entirely in Dutch. A few years later, we recorded a new studio version that was released as a bonus track on 'Blazing Flames Of War'.

This year, we decided to do another new version, in celebration of Countess' 20th anniversary. While the 2007 version was a very 'stripped down' version, without any keyboards, this version is closer in spirit to the original version.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

"Sturm und Drang, (German: “Storm and Stress”), German literary movement of the late 18th century that exalted nature, feeling, and human individualism and sought to overthrow the Enlightenment cult of Rationalism. Goethe and Schiller began their careers as prominent members of the movement.

The exponents of the Sturm und Drang were profoundly influenced by the thought of Rousseau and Johann Georg Hamann, who held that the basic verities of existence were to be apprehended through faith and the experience of the senses. The young writers also were influenced by the works of the English poet Edward Young, the pseudo-epic poetry of James Macpherson’s “Ossian,” and the recently translated works of Shakespeare.

Sturm und Drang was intimately associated with the young Goethe. While a student at Strasbourg, he made the acquaintance of Johann Gottfried von Herder, a former pupil of Hamann, who interested him in Gothic architecture, German folk songs, and Shakespeare. Inspired by Herder’s ideas, Goethe embarked upon a period of extraordinary creativity. In 1773 he published a play based upon the 16th-century German knight, Götz von Berlichingen, and collaborated with Herder and others on the pamphlet “Von deutscher Art und Kunst,” which was a kind of manifesto for the Sturm und Drang. His novel Die Leiden des jungen Werthers (1774; The Sorrows of Young Werther), which epitomized the spirit of the movement, made him world famous and inspired a host of imitators.

The dramatic literature of the Sturm und Drang was its most characteristic product. Indeed, the very name of the movement was borrowed from a play by Friedrich von Klinger, who had been inspired by the desire to present on the stage figures of Shakespearean grandeur, subordinating structural considerations to character and rejecting the conventions of French Neoclassicism, which had been imported by the critic Johann Christop von Gottsched. With the production of Die Räuber (1781; The Robbers) by Schiller, the drama of the Sturm und Drang entered a new phase.

Self-discipline was not a tenet of the Sturm und Drang, and the movement soon exhausted itself. Its two most gifted representatives, Goethe and Schiller, went on to produce great works that formed the body and soul of German classical literature. "

Article taken from Encyclopedia Britannica

"Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 18th century 'Angry Young Men' movement in Germany, 'Sturm und Drang'. Translated into English as 'Storm and Stress', this short-lived movement was characterised by raw emotion, drama and rebellion. Melvyn is joined by Tim Blanning, Emeritus Professor of Modern European History at Cambridge University; Susanne Kord, Professor of German at University College, London; and Maike Oergel, Associate Professor of German at the University of Nottingham."

Monday, September 10, 2012

"O Fortuna" is a medieval Latin Goliardic poem written early in the 13th century, part of the collection known as the Carmina Burana. It is a complaint about fate and Fortuna, a goddess in Roman mythology and the personification of luck

In 1935–36, "O Fortuna" was set to music by the German composer Carl Orff as a part of movement "Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi" of his cantata Carmina Burana, which it opens and closes. It opens on a slower pace with thumping drums and choir that drops quickly into a whisper building slowly into a steady crescendo of drums and short string and horn notes peaking on one last long powerful note and ending abruptly. A performance takes a little over two and one-half minutes.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Below is an article (Click on the picture and "Save Picture As..." to read it. Its in a quite big resolution) about the legend of Herne The Hunter. The "Robin of Sherwood"series is also mentioned there. This article is scanned from SPEAR OF WODEN Mag #2 (Published in 2000 a.y.p.s.)